DFA condemns Barcelona attack

ABS-CBN News

Forensic police officers search for clues near the area where a van crashed into pedestrians at Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain, August 18, 2017. Sergio Perez, Reuters

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday condemned the terrorist attack in Barcelona that left at least 13 people dead and scores, including three Filipinos, wounded.

"The Philippines condemns in the strongest terms this disturbing act of terror perpetrated by extremists against innocent men, women and children in Barcelona," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.

Three Filipinos on vacation were among scores hurt after a van rammed into the crowd in the Spanish city, but were out of danger, officials said.

The Filipino couple and their 2 children, all Irish citizens, declined to give their identities so as not to alarm their relatives in the Philippines.

The mother was unhurt while the father was under observation at the hospital. The daughter was discharged from the hospital while doctors assessed if the son would need surgery.

The Philippine Embassy in Madrid and the Honorary Consulate in Barcelona are closely coordinating with Spanish authorities to ensure that the 20,000 Filipinos in Barcelona remain safe after a terrorist attack killed at least 13, the DFA's statement read.

"We stand in solidarity with the people of Catalonia and all of Spain and the rest of the world as we fight this common scourge," Cayetano said.

Cayetano earlier called on the more than 10 million Filipinos abroad to exercise more vigilance in the wake of terrorist incidents all over the world.